Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/188

154 guide our Indian policy: preparation for citizenship by industrial and general education; allotment of land in severalty, inalienable for a certain period; fair compensation for Indian lands not required for allotment; and, finally, investment of the Indians, so educated and provided for, with the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. His last communication to congress, March 3, 1881, was a message returning with his veto a bill "to facilitate the refunding of the national debt," which contained a provision seriously impairing the value and tending to the destruction of the national banking system. On the following day he assisted at the inauguration of his successor.

The administration of President Hayes, although much attacked by the politicians of both parties, was on the whole very satisfactory to the people at large. By withdrawing the Federal troops from the southern state-houses, and restoring to the people of those states practical self-government, it prepared the way for that revival of patriotism among those lately estranged from the Union, that fraternal feeling between the two sections of the country, and the wonderful material advancement of the south which we now witness. It conducted with wisdom and firmness the preparations for the resumption of specie payments, as well as the funding of the public debt at lower rates of interest, and thus facilitated the